Datacentres facing increase in global climate-related legal cases, report finds

Datacentres are increasingly becoming the subject of global climate-related legal cases, according to a report by the London School of Economics (LSE). The LSE's latest annual review of climate litigation, which analyzed approximately 3,600 climate-related lawsuits filed since 2015, identified a rising trend in legal challenges targeting datacentres. These cases specifically focus on issues such as the energy sources utilized by datacentres, their substantial water consumption, and the air pollution they generate, all of which have direct implications for climate change. The report indicates that this trend is evident across various regions, from Chile to Ireland, highlighting the growing scrutiny of the environmental impact of these facilities. The proliferation of datacentres, driven in part by the expansion of artificial intelligence technologies, is placing them at the forefront of environmental litigation worldwide. The analysis suggests that legal actions are being taken to address the environmental footprint of datacentre operations, including their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion. This growing body of litigation underscores the increasing pressure on the technology sector to adopt more sustainable practices in its infrastructure development and operations.